Paul Warne has pinpointed exactly where it went wrong for his side as Derby County slipped to a toothless draw against Wycombe Wanderers last night.
Derby County have well and truly opened the door to their promotion rivals after producing a goalless draw against Wycombe.
Paul Warne‘s men started the night a point clear of third place Bolton Wanderers. A win would have sent them four points clear, knowing they couldn’t be caught this weekend regardless of how other results went.
Instead, the Rams are looking over their shoulder as Bolton can gain the initiative by beating Portsmouth while Peterborough can go level on points if they win their two games in hand.
It was a disappointing night for Derby, who failed to register a single shot on target as several players underperformed while only Cardiff loanee Ebou Adams could hold his head high.
Paul Warne shares what went wrong v Wycombe
Derby lacked intensity, fight and quality in the final third against Wycombe as Corey Blackett-Taylor missed a golden chance to put his side ahead.
Those clear-cut opportunities were few and far between as the visitors only recorded five shots on goal in the match, with Warne now explaining what went wrong for his side.
“We wanted the lads to play with a bit more calmness but in the second half we didn’t really create enough chances,” Warne told Derby’s official website.
“We had corners and free-kicks but it just didn’t fall for us and sometimes it’s like that. We’ve got to try and bounce back on Saturday at home. A few of our lads weren’t on song, that’s probably the best way to put it. I’m disappointed that we only got a point, however, at the end of the season it could be a good point.”
League One promotion race
As Warne alluded to, Derby must bounce back at home against Leyton Orient this weekend and hope Portsmouth can beat Bolton at the Toughsheet Stadium.
Although it’s unlikely, slipping up at Wycombe means the Rams are powerless if one of Bolton or Peterborough win all their remaining games.
Promotion has been taken from the palm of their hands and planted at the foot of their rivals, it’s just whether they can take advantage of this slip-up and punish Derby.
Warne’s men have three fixtures remaining against Orient, Cambridge and Carlisle while Posh play Bolton on the final day, potentially teeing up a three-horse finale to decide that second spot.
Ultimately, a nerve-shredding end to Derby’s campaign awaits and having been in control of their destiny, the pendulum has now swung in the other direction.
Hopefully, their rivals drop points and the Rams take maximum to secure promotion back to the Championship, otherwise, it’s looking like another play-off campaign.